Umbongo
by devilsangel1973
Summary: Set the day after the last episode focusing on Carter's work with Doctors Without Boarders and seeing some familiar faces from the past


"Call me in the morning"

Then she was gone, Carter stood there not knowing if she had walked out on him for the last time or if this was her way of walking back in. But tonight was an important night, not just for the Joshua Carter centre, or for the people that would benefit from it, but also for him, for his healing process- something good was coming out of his grief.

Morris poured another cup of coffee, it had been a long night. The last ambulance pulled up an hour ago and things were just about getting back to normal so decided now was a good time for coffee. Over on the sofa he noticed Carter asleep holding his phone

"Hey, what are you still doing here? You should go home" Morris gently shook Carter awake

"What time is it?" Carter said quite groggily trying to focus at his watch

"Just gone 7, last patient from the accident has just been taken to surgery by Dubenko, you should go home, aren't you on the late tonight?"

"No, swapped my shift with Brenner, did we hear how Harrison's surgery went, were they able to stop the bleeding?" Carter's head was starting to clear, the only thing he could think about was the last words she said to him

"Yeah, he's in recovery, as long as there are no complications he should be up in a few days. Hey, I'm off after I hand over, want to get breakfast- you saved my ass last night, I owe you'

'Normally I wouldn't pass on the opportunity to get breakfast out of you Morris, but there's something I have to do this morning'

'Suit yourself, I'll see you next week' Morris left and Carter was sat there alone again with his phone in his hand willing himself to open it and dial, but this conversation could make or break it with Kem, he couldn't screw it up.

'Good morning' Carter tried to sound as cheerful as possible

'John, what time is it?' Kem sounded like she had just woken up, Carter wished he was lying next to her having this conversation, not the other side of the city by phone

'Just after 7, you said to call you in the morning, so this is me, calling you in the morning, so do you want to have breakfast'

'I didn't expect you to be up yet with last night being such a big night for you'

'Not just me, both of us- I did this for us, and for Joshua. So can I buy you breakfast?'

'I don't know, I have to fly back to Paris today, there's talk of my mother coming home'

'That's great news, half an hour, that's all I ask' He could sense she was putting up her barriers again, shutting him out.

'Okay, meet me at the Centre at 8' Kem then hung up. Carter felt a tinge of sadness as many a conversation with Kem had ended abruptly, but at least this time there was a flicker of hope

'So are you going to give me the tour?' Kem stood there in the sun looking at John, she was so beautiful to him and shocked that she had taken an interest in the centre, up until how she had shut him down every time he spoke of it.

'Sure, do you not want coffee first?'

'American coffee isn't the same as French coffee, I had a Tea at the hotel' John could see that she was trying to hold it together, it wasn't easy for her being back in Chicago, or here, at the place that was named after the child she lost

'Okay, well I would be delighted to take you on the guided tour' John beamed, she had that effect on him, just being in the same place as her made him light up and he was so proud of her, of what she had achieved just by being in the building

'And that concludes the tour' Carter showed Kem the last room, the children's play area

'You really have thought of everything here John, this is going to keep you busy for some time' Kem seemed genuinely impressed at what he had done with it

'It's been a healer, the first medical conference takes place at the house in a week, Doctors Without Boarders seminar. It's a sort of advertisement for medical staff to sign up and go and put their skills to good use, you should apply to have them at your clinic'

'Are you going to go back to Africa?'

'I want to, but with the transplant I don't know if I can, it's early days, but I would love to go back, what about you, what are your plans'

'I dont know, I would like to go back to Africa, but I suspect I shall be spending a lot of time in Paris, I can't leave my mother'

'I know, what about us? Where will we be?' John had been wanting to ask this question for a long time and he didnt know he could handle it if she said it was the end

'You know I can't live here yet' Kem began, though it had started to become a statement that she made to stop her from moving on

'I'm not asking you to stay here, I'm asking if we have a future, I would do anything for you, you know that, If you want to live in Paris then we'll live in Paris, I'll just come back here every couple of months to oversee things, If you want to live in Africa then give me some time to recover and we can live in Africa. I would go anywhere for you, you know that' John looked at Kem, pleading with her not to let him go

'Okay, we'll try Paris?' Kem smiled, this was the first time he had seen her smile in a long time, he had forgotten how completely stunning she was when she smiled

'We can work this out, I love you' John kissed her on the head and she slipped her hand into his and his heart melted all over again, for the first time in a long time he could see a light at the end of a very long dark tunnel.


End file.
